Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model? (1977)

Yes, that Stonestreet name on this indicates that this was intended to be a series, so this is another back door pilot that was burned off as a TV movie — it aired as the NBC Movie of the Week on January 16, 1977 — and was released in the UK on DVD as part of the Universal Vault Series. Here’s to more TV movies coming out in physical form.

Liz Stonestreet (Barbara Eden!) lost her cop husband in the line of duty. To keep his memory — and mission to keep law and order — she becomes a detective. In this pilot, her latest case goes from finding a missing man to working in an adult theater to trying to find Amory Osborn (Ann Dusenberry, Jaws 2), an heiress mixed up in the world of vice. It’s also the debut of LaWanda Page.

Russ Mayberry did plenty of TV, as well as Unidentified Flying Oddball for Disney. This was written by  Leslie Stevens, who created The Outer Limits, as well as writing Incubus, the William Shatner movie shot completely in Esperanto. He also wrote The Invisible Man TV series, which Riding With Death was cobbled together from as well as Return to the Blue Lagoon and Sheena.

This isn’t good, but how strange is it that just a few years before, Eden had to hide her belly button on I Dream of Jeannie and here, she’s an usher at a down and dirty porn theater?

You can watch this on Tubi.